The Most Famous Haunted House in New Zealand

One cold sunny Sunday afternoon a few months ago, Allie, Amiri, Arram and I went on a quest to investigate the most famous haunted house in New Zealand, the Carlile House. There are a lot of urband legends about this former boys' orphanage.  The most well-known story tells the tragic tale of a terrible fire at the orphanage in 1912 in which 43 boys supposedly died.  Would we be able to find any real evidence that the place was haunted?Granted, any ghosts probably would not be out and about on a bright sunny afternoon, on a SUNDAY.   I think we found some fun and adventure, if not evidence of paranormal activity.  

This is the front entrance to the building.  The Carlile House was originally built in 1886 as a training school for orphan boys.  It was called "The Costley Home for Boys".  Costley was the name of a New Zealand philantropist who donated money for hospitals and orphanages in Auckland.  According to an internet source (I searched the key words "Carlile House Auckland") there were absolutely no newspaper accounts of a fire or any deaths at this location.  But you know how people love a mystery, and reports of any ghosts keep growing with each new generation and the legends take on a life of their own.  In 1935 it was purchased by the Salavation Army and re-named The Carlile House. and was in use until 1969 for emergency housing. It has since been vacant and is currently falling into disrepair, to the point that it has been fenced in with barbed wire on the top to keep the curious and other thrill seekers from entering and getting themselves hurt.

The United Church of Tonga purchased the property in 1970.  The chapel, built in 1913, was repaired and is currently being used as a very nice place of worship.

In fact, there were church services going on as we wandered around the property, and the only sounds our recordings picked up were the voices of people singing hymns.  We witnessed a group of teenagers squeeze through the fence, only to be warned off by several imposing Tongan gentlemen dressed in their church-going best, which is a suit coat, tie and lava-lava with sandals.  (A lava-lava is a piece of brightly colored cloth wrapped around the waist and secured with a wide woven flax belt.  The lava-lava is knee-length.)

Here is a view of Carlile House taken from the front entrance to the church.  I wanted to get the trunk of the tree in the picture, because it looks so "spooky" in an organic way.  I guess you could argue that this is the best proof I have that the tree "witnessed" horrifying ghostly events that were then imprinted on its very bark.

And this view of the front, with the tree branch leaning in, suggests that something of interest may be sighted on the windows.

Standing farther back, I took this photo of the facade, hoping to decipher the words written on the glass.  Several of the windows are broken and boarded up, but I am sure that drafts can make their way inside.  

But here are the same windows in infared.  Those green figures are watching us, do you think?  And what does G2K mean?????

We wandered around to the back of the building, and stood in the church parking lot.  Everything was quiet and ordinary looking.  BUT:  Look at the windows on the second floor.  The third one from the left still has intact glass panes, and a ragged curtain is waving due to an odd vagrant gust of air......or Something Else.

A close up shot of the roof facade reveals the inscription:  Deo Juvante...With God's Help.  

So, is Carlile House haunted by paranormal manifestations?  Or just haunted by urban legends?  In either case, it is an interesting part of the Auckland scene, and it seemed fitting to share this story with you just in time for Halloween!  JMF